I can only judge them by the material they provide on their homepage. and that material is clearly NOT prog, not even prog related. as Friede mentioned before: they obviously don't want to be regarded as a prog band, so we should do them the favor and leave them out

Edited by BaldJean - August 01 2007 at 15:34

A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo pricipiis obsta

They seem to me like a pop-punk band that does pathetically over-complicated space opera concept albums. Why the f**k should I care about this Good Apollo, or why he is the Fourth Burning Star, or what have you? Plus, the lyrics are just bad, and not necessarily sense-making. In one song, Claudio uses: "You seem to take premise..." when I think he meant to write: "You seem to take precedence..." Perhaps there's a hidden meaning there, but I tend to think that it's just bad writing.

There is so much I could say on this subject that I cannot quite figure where to start.

A few years ago I lobbied extensively to get Coheed and Cambria added to the prog archives, and despite getting the green light, submitting all the albums and album info, and writing reviews for all of their material, they were quickly removed. Despite the fact that Claudio has gone on record to say, "I'd call us progressive rock." Along with The Mars Volta, Muse, Radiohead, and Tool, Coheed and Cambria remain one of the few modern progressive bands branching out into new realms of both progressive and mainstream rock.

Therein lies part of the genius that is Coheed and Cambria. Almost every song they have recorded works on two basic levels: as pop-punk escapist music, and as deep, progressive and experimental rock. Claudio's vocals, despite being sung in a high register catered to the emo mainstream public, are always layered by intriguing and interesting harmonies. The dual-guitar work of Claudio and Travis is unlike any other in mainstream rock. Also, the story behind the music is wholly progressive in the sense that there is more to Coheed and Cambria than just music. As a fan of the sci-fi story surrounding the albums, I find the lyrics to be genius in their ambiguity; it is very difficult to write such material that holds up on its own, yet has an altogether deeper and more significant meaning.

Calling Coheed and Cambria mearly a pop-punk.emo band is ignorant in so many ways I cannot even begin to dignify with comment. Any serious music listener who has sat down with any of their albums (the experimental indie-rock of Second Stage, the grand space-rock of In Keepin Secrets, or the Rush-influenced Good Apollo) can easily attest to Coheed an Cambria's progressive and experimental leanings.

There is so much I could say on this subject that I cannot quite figure where to start.

A few years ago I lobbied extensively to get Coheed and Cambria added to the prog archives, and despite getting the green light, submitting all the albums and album info, and writing reviews for all of their material, they were quickly removed. Despite the fact that Claudio has gone on record to say, "I'd call us progressive rock." Along with The Mars Volta, Muse, Radiohead, and Tool, Coheed and Cambria remain one of the few modern progressive bands branching out into new realms of both progressive and mainstream rock.

Therein lies part of the genius that is Coheed and Cambria. Almost every song they have recorded works on two basic levels: as pop-punk escapist music, and as deep, progressive and experimental rock. Claudio's vocals, despite being sung in a high register catered to the emo mainstream public, are always layered by intriguing and interesting harmonies. The dual-guitar work of Claudio and Travis is unlike any other in mainstream rock. Also, the story behind the music is wholly progressive in the sense that there is more to Coheed and Cambria than just music. As a fan of the sci-fi story surrounding the albums, I find the lyrics to be genius in their ambiguity; it is very difficult to write such material that holds up on its own, yet has an altogether deeper and more significant meaning.

Calling Coheed and Cambria mearly a pop-punk.emo band is ignorant in so many ways I cannot even begin to dignify with comment. Any serious music listener who has sat down with any of their albums (the experimental indie-rock of Second Stage, the grand space-rock of In Keepin Secrets, or the Rush-influenced Good Apollo) can easily attest to Coheed an Cambria's progressive and experimental leanings.

If i recorded myself taking a dump and called it progressive that doesn't make it so.

I've listened to the entire fourth album, and frankly I don't know what you're talking about.

I really loved "Welcome Home", but I disliked pretty much all of the rest of the album. The lyrics maybe ambiguous, sure, but they're also unambiguously bad. And as far as the music goes, I can see prog influence, sure, but I still believe them to be a pop punk band. I guess you are able to see depth there that my brain is too deformed to see.

Good Apollo IV ReviewKeeping the Blade - I like this, as it sets the epic-drama tone for the rest of the CD very well. It's short, but it is quite beautiful.Prog or Not?: Prog

Always and Never - Here begin the lyrics, and thus also my dislike for the band. Stupid Armory Wars...Prog or Not?: Not particularly prog, but it reminds me of acoustic Pink Floyd (especially from various Wall Tracks, Wish You Were Here, and Pigs on the Wing)

Welcome Home - Absolutely wondrous track. This is heavy symph prog that reminds of neoclassical metal. The lyrics are, again, ridiculous and ungrammatical. Still, the track is absolutely the best on the CD.Prog or Not?: Duh, Prog.

Ten Speed (Blah Blah Too Long Title) - Extremely catchy, and with some excellent guitar. This has very clear pop-rock influence, and it's basically an intricate punk song.Prog or Not? Not, although I like it.

Crossing the Frame - Very reminscent of ska and pop-punk. It's, of course, a catchy tune. Lyrics are ambiguous to anyone who is uninformed about the Armory Wars (i.e. Me). But they're actually tolerable, and poetic in this song ("Casting quarters into wells that hold our dreams"). It's a shame I don't know who "Newo" is.Prog or Not? Not.

Apollo I: The Writing Writer - Oh, darn, the lyrics have taken a turn back to amazing pomposity. The ambient synthesizers are the interesting feature on this track, and the music features a couple of cool time changes (Singing "Come on bitch why aren't you laughing now?" in 6:8 is a lot cooler than singing it in 4:4)Prog or Not?: Prog

Once Upon Your Dead Body - A creepy pop track, with a very punk rock bass line boring the hell out of me throughout much of it ("Duh-duh-duh-duh"). No I will not drink "your chemical", Claudio. This is the first bad track on the album. The synthesizers at the end don't make it prog, they just make it pseudo-prog.Prog or Not?: Not.

Wake Up - Yak. I can't even stand this. It's really touching that Claudio will kill anyone for his sweet-heart, but I really can't take the simpering vocals and repetitive sentimentality. The orchestra comes in at some point, but really, any one who wants to can add an orchestra to something, and it still won't be prog necessarily.Prog or Not?: NOT.

The Suffering - Oh my God, does this track rock or what? Catchiest on the whole album. Probably the best non-prog offering. Don't let its genre (or lyrics) keep you from enjoying it.Prog or Not?: Not, but who the hell cares?

The Lying Lies and Dirty Secrets of Ms. Erica Court - Just a punk track, not much to see here, unless you want a good laugh from the lyrics.Prog or Not?: Not.

Mother May I: It's, again, a punk track with obscure lyrics. Too bad it's too chilled out to be as entertaining as The Suffering.Prog or Not?: Not.

The Willing Well I: Fuel For the Feeding End - Oh yeah, this track combines the best of both worlds, in the same way The Cardiacs do. Excellent instrumentation, as well as a punk energy behind it all. The lyrics are just...well, look them up for yourself. Claudio can be scary in the same way Cate Blanchett was in Fellowship of the Ring.Prog or Not? Prog.

The Willing Well II: Fear Through The Eyes of Madness - It starts off promisingly with some synthesizer, transforms into an alternatively upbeat punk and metallish-drone beginning. Towards the middle there's a bit of good rock n' roll (a bit like Wolfmother, say), which then transforms into very cool prog metal! Although repetitive towards the end (to the point of being more punk than metal, I think), it's a great, great track.Prog or Not? Yes, Prog!

The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth - Nice electronic intro...followed by a song we've heard before. It's Apollo again...whoopdy-doo. This is followed by a neat bit of dual guitar playing, to make up for the repetition. 5 minutes in...it devolves into pop-punk some how. In fact, it's the poppiest punkiest part of the album. And then we go back to Apollo I again (which is a big relief, as I don't like too much pop punk).Prog or Not? Prog, just like Apollo I.

The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut - A fairly neat prog-metal offering. At 3:30, it begins to sound like David Gilmour is doing a guest appearance. It's wonderful. The final minute of the song is an absolutely hilarious bluegrass acoustic jam. It's just great that they decided to end this portion of a dark, epic saga in a very lighthearted, folksy way.Prog or Not?: Totally prog.

In summary, the album is fairly polarizing. It's divided between mostly 2/5s and 4/5s. I would give it a 3/5, but I would recommend you download certain tracks rather than buy the whole album. I would also recommend buying the Armory Wars comic if you want to have a prayer at understanding the lyrics.

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